


Home

by SammiB



Category: Hit the Floor (TV)
Genre: Cheating Zero, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Eventual resolve, F/M, Laura's in this, M/M, No Sex, No Smut, One Shot, Sorry!, surprise inside
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-09-18
Updated: 2016-09-18
Packaged: 2018-08-15 14:44:28
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,356
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8060560
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/SammiB/pseuds/SammiB
Summary: After losing a very important away game very badly Zero makes a decision that affects his whole world. He cheats on Jude. Now everything is out in the air and it's hard to tell if they can recover from something like this. Will they be able to keep the family and everything that they have built so far together? Can they? Read to find out.--->BONUS: There a mini surprise, more like two surprises inside. Want to know what it is? Gotta read.--->





	

**Author's Note:**

> Hey so I woke up with this idea on my mind and immediately started writing. I know you'll like it so read and enjoy.

It was an away game that ended badder than bad. Having to push through post game conferences and interviews recounting every error and mistake, Zero needed to relax. It was a party. Some drinks and one or two lines of coke and he was right where he needed to be. Then there were legs and a voice.

_Bad Day?_

She sells her truth to TMZ and it spreads like wildfire. The next day when Zero wakes up alone and naked he checks his phone and sees the outreach of every tabloid magazine and texts from agents in all caps yelling WHAT DID YOU DO? and DON'T ANSWER ANY CALLS. WE'RE HANDLING IT. In the midst of all the craziness in his phone is a valuable gem. A text from Jude the night before. One a video:

"Hey Zero!" Jude smiled brightly sitting down in the kids play room with Isaiah, the oldest and level headed twin in his lap. He holds up Isaiah's arm and waves for him although he doesn't seem all that interested. In the back Eli(short of Elijah), the younger and more wild twin runs around. "Guys, daddy's not feeling too happy. Should we sing him a song?"

"Yes." Eli yells coming over to sit next to his brother on Jude's lap. He reaches for the phone and Jude pulls back widening the frame.

"Let's all sing nice and loudly." He counts them off and the boys take it away sing screaming,

"Daddy, cheer up. We are here for you." They recite it over and over.

"Daddy, cheer up. We are here for you." Jude's eyes melt watching their sons sing. When they're done Jude looks at the camera.

"Zero, don't let it hold you back. Cheer up." The video goes black and all Zero wants to do is play it again but he's pulled away by s realization. While he should have been watching this video last night he was having sex with another woman. It was then, as he stared at the three loves of his life he felt the impact of what he had done.

 

Zero steps off the plane and gets engulfed in the flashes of paparazzi cameras. There in the middle of LAX trapped in a circle of light with nowhere to go he decides not to hide. He decides to accept his consequences.

 

Eventually, he makes it home and before he goes in he takes a deep breath and makes up his mind about how he's gonna tell Jude.

Jude is in the kitchen washing the dishes and setting the dishwasher. He hears the front door open and makes up his mind that he won't believe anything other people say about Zero unless he tells him himself. Zero drops his bag at the door and walks into the kitchen.

"Hey," Jude says closing the dishwasher. For a moment Zero looks at Jude and sees that he doesn't know. Maybe he hasn't heard(which would be unlikely).

"Hey," He jumps onto the counter and sips a glass of water he got from the fridge. He looks around for conversation. It's quiet, but then again it's 10 pm.

"The boys?" Jude fidgets at the sound of his voice. The possibility of everything being true.

"Sleeping. Just put them down thirty minutes ago. They might still be awake." Zero nods.

"I'll go after I shower." Zero hops down and goes up the stairs. Both men now able to breathe now that they aren't in front of each other.

"They're out alright." Zero sighs getting into bed. Jude is already there.

"Even Eli; It's usually impossible for him to go to bed."

"Yea, a whole day of running around really pooped him out." Jude yawns facing away from the middle of the bed. Zero settles into bed turning to face Jude's back. Was he asleep? Deep down Zero could never tell Jude to his face that he had betrayed him. The back was close enough.

"Jude," he tested out. He gave him no answer but Zero could tell that he was awake. "Everything you're hearing is true. I did it. I slept with her."

Jude bites his lip and tries not to move. Zero doesn't say anything else after that. He feels better inside, no longer tight and tense; he thinks he can sleep now. As his heavy breathing turns to snores Jude continues to stare at the door and stop the knot forming in his chest. Jude didn't sleep that night.

 

The days after were worse. Jude became a little colder, more guarded. He barely looked or spoke to Zero. The one change that Zero wasn't expecting was for Jude to start sleeping in one of the guest bedrooms. It just started one night when he came home late from work and continued after that. The words Jude says to Zero are limited. If Zero asked where something was he would say the place or an I don't know. It was as though Jude couldn't stand to look and talk to him which was understandable.

Tuesday night was the hardest. All four of them were eating dinner. Well, mostly Zero and the boys and Jude was feeding them. Isaiah started to count and usually he couldn't get past 6 but then that night he did it going all the way to ten. Jude was proud; they both were and in that proud second Jude and Zero locked eyes and fawned over it together right before everything came back to Jude and his smile faded and he went back to feeding Isaiah. If they couldn't even keep it together in front of the kids what was the point? Zero decides that they have to talk it out once and for all.

After dinner that night, Jude leans against the counter in the Kitchen eating the boys leftovers. It had became his habit over the years since they adopted them. Zero walks into the counter and instinctively Jude starts for the farthest place in the kitchen away from him. Zero throws the plate into the sink a little too rough and they clatter loud and noisily.

"If you're pissed at me just say so." Zero scoffs.

"But you know that I'm pissed without me saying it so why should I?"

"I don't know; it would make you feel better?"

"Make me feel better." Jude thought repeating the words.

"So if I told you that simply looking at you sicks my stomach I would feel better?"

"Do you?" Zero was taken aback by the stabbing statement.

"No." Jude closed his eyes and sighs.

"I don't know. I just feel like if I did something you wouldn't have-"

"Jesus Christ! It's wasn't about you!"

"Then what was it about then? I really want to know." That question was sort of a mystery in Zero's head as well.

"I-I just wanted to get away from everything. I wanted to go back to before because it was so much easier and simple." To Jude, the before that Zero wanted was before the kids, before him. Did Zero regret it all? Had he pushed it on him too quick? Did they move too fast? Did he really want to go back? Jude bit his lip as those questions and more flooded his head.

"So while you're turning back the clock what should I do? What next?" He swallowed the words roughly anticipating his response.

"I know that my actions have consequences and I'm ready to live with them." His words are robotic and cold. Did he not care that they could completely fall apart because of this? "It's up to you."

Jude bit his lip thinking of how it wasn't supposed to be like this. Custodies with spilt weeks and holidays, dropping the kids off to spend time with their other dad. It wasn't supposed to turn out like that. They were so good that these things were never supposed to be in front of them but now they were right here in this kitchen.

This was their home. The home that they had built to fill with happiness and love. It was supposed to be complete and whole but now cracks were forming on the walls tearing it apart. Jude thought they were done with broken homes yet here they were making one more.

He wanted to fight but inside it all felt useless. If Zero didn't want it then what was the point of pushing for it. Things were never supposed to be like this. _Their future_ was never supposed to be like this.

The more Jude thought about it the more sad he got. The knot the that had bloomed to the size of a walnut a few days ago was growing into a giant watermelon. Now, his chest felt like it was going to burst. He held his head down to keep the tightness and inevitable tears from falling in front of Zero.

"Okay." Was all he could mutter out before escaping upstairs to the guest room where he slept. Finally inside, he locked the door and retreated to the furthest corner of the room to cry.

 

Things between Jude and Zero go back to the way they were before their talk. Limited words and faint looks. But everything is much colder than before.

When Laura and Zero meet for the first time since he got back she knocks him on his ass.

"Are you retarted?!" She yells.

"It was a mistake! It was wrong. I was wrong. I admit that." He coughs out as he gets up to sit across from her. That's not enough for her and she's still livid.

"So why not say that instead of 'it's up to you what you want to do next but I don't care either way'" she mocked him from what he told her.

"It _is_ up to him. It's _his_ choice if we stay together or not."

"It's all on him!" She stresses. "He has to deal with everything. The press, TMZ, this chick, and your nasty attitude even though you're the one in the wrong. He's trying to keep you guys and everything that you two have build together and you're just shitting on it." Was that what he had been doing? The way Zero saw it, he was giving Jude an out. But a psychology major little sister came in handy in times like this. Was he rejecting everything Jude was trying to do to fix this thing?

"He loves you more than anyone else. So much that he would have denied everything if you told him you didn't cheat. He would have stuck by you blindly." Zero looked at his sister much differently than before.

"He wants to stay with you, after everything he still wants to. And I don't know why because you're a dick." She scoffs with dry laugh.

"But you're saying that you don't and I know you don't want to walk away from him and the kids because of one rando chick." Zero doesn't. With Laura's words he's able to put things into better perspective. He thinks over the last couple of days and a little fact burns him to the core. He never even said he was sorry or that he regretted it. Zero was, he did regret it. Badly.

"Then what do I say? Every time i speak the wrong words come out the wrong way."

"I don't know." She shrugs. "But it's up to you to fix it so you better start saying the right ones or he'll leave and everything will be a bigger mess than this." Zero nods knowing that he has to fix it and he can't waste anymore time.

 

Zero races home and runs to Jude in the kitchen.

"I'm sorry! I should have said that a long time ago but I'm sorry. I'm sorry. I'm a jerk and an asshole. I'm sorry for everything I said the other night. I want you. I want the kids. I want all four of us to be together. Please forgive me."

"I don't know if I can." Jude shakes his head.

"What would make it better? Huh?" Zero asks desperately. "Cheat on me. Punch me. Hurt me as much or more than I hurt you."

"I don't want to." Jude sighs weakly. " I just need some time, okay." He runs a hand through his hair pulling it back and starts to walk away. Zero reaches out and holds on to his hand. Jude turns and looks down at Zero's hand in his. All he wants to do is run his fingers between Zero's but he knows that he can't.

"Jude," Gideon calls out. Yes, Gideon.

"Please," He begs. "Don't leave me."

At that Jude takes hold of Zero's hand and leads him upstairs to their bedroom. They sit in the middle of bed Jude with one leg folded inward and another bent at the knee in between Zero's straight leg and opposite leg bent at the knee. Their foreheads touched at their close proximity as they whispered their fears.

"I'm scared that I lost you. I messed everything up and I'm mad that I hurt you the most." Zero avoided Jude's eyes out of newborn shame.

"I'm scared that _I_ lost _you_. That you regret stuff. I'm scared that you want to go back." Zero shook his head.

"I don't regret you. Or the boys. The only thing I regret are my actions. I want to stay right here right now with you and our family." Hearing that made Jude crack a smile. A smile that Zero hadn't seen in so long. To him, it was like the sun shining after a hurricane. His smile told him that everything would be okay. There was just one more thing left to do.

"Can I," Zero bit his lip nervously. "Can I kiss you?

Jude didn't answer just leaned in and kissed him. His soft lips were Zero's ultimate home. This kiss was the reminder that there was no place like home and through any storm they could come out the other side, not unbroken, but a little closer than before.

-End-

**Author's Note:**

> So? How was it? Leave a comment letting me know what you thought, good or bad I don't care.  
> My tumblr for more me: [Here](https://www.google.com/url?sa=t&rct=j&q=&esrc=s&source=web&cd=1&cad=rja&uact=8&ved=0ahUKEwig2O-0z5fPAhXMWz4KHcuwAwoQFggeMAA&url=http%3A%2F%2Fsammib-25.tumblr.com%2F&usg=AFQjCNEK67dp9YMBri_V7C6zpcLc7tfZBA&sig2=zbTrBIQ6FI_aApZOI2-0XQ&bvm=bv.133178914,d.cWw)


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